Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins with Attorney General Maura Healey at the House of Correction during the Department’s “Paths to Employment” event.

Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins welcomed Attorney General Maura Healey back to the Suffolk County House of Correction to speak at the Third Annual “Paths to Employment” Program.

Part of the Department’s Women’s Program Services, Paths to Employment is a mock interview fair held with Project Place, a Department re–entry partner and leading social service agency in Boston, and an impressive array participating local employers.

Designed for women who have successfully completed required stages of their individual service plans (ISP) and Women’s Programming, Paths to Employment consists of a five–week job readiness training that is administered with a gender–specific, trauma–informed and individualized reintegration focus that includes courses such as “Digital Toolbox Resume Writing,” among others.

Speaking to the participants of the program, Sheriff Tompkins offered words of support and encouragement.

“We are proud of you today,” said Sheriff Tompkins. “We’re proud because you’ve taken this important step forward in your development and are moving toward a positive future for yourselves and your families. Keep it up, because you’ve already achieved and you can continue achieving if you stay on this path.”

In this year’s cycle, nineteen female inmates nearing release volunteered for an intensive preparation course, which concluded with the Paths to Employment event. Partnering with Project Place, the Department offered courses in resume writing, job training, and interviewing skills, which the participants put into practice by sitting with the visiting employers and vendors for the mock–interview sessions and follow–up feedback.

These participating “C.O.R.I–friendly” employers were matched with the interests of each individual woman in the program for interviews. Participants completed fifteen–minute mock interviews followed by ten minutes of feedback with at least two different employers from a list that included: Block by Block, Cityscapes, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Dimock Center, Project Place, and others. Throughout the course of the program and into the feedback portion of the event, interviewees’ expressed increased confidence and acknowledged their professional improvement.

Attorney General Healey, speaking about her work with Sheriff Tompkins, praised the Department for offering opportunities and working to give more equitable services to women before addressing the participants.

“I love what today is about,” said AG Healey. “It’s about re–entry and taking steps to position yourself where you deserve to be. Congratulations.”

For more information about Women’s Programming at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, visit:www.scsdma.org.